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My dog has seizures after playing. Is it from heat or exercise?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Italian Greyhound | Male | neutered | 5 years and 2 months old | 20 lbs

My dog has had three seizures in the last 15 months. They seem to occur after he's been playing a lot or running around at the park. Can heat or increased body temperature lead to seizures? He had a workup at the vet and brain tumors and cancer has been ruled out.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on May 18th, 2017

Potentially seizures or seizures like episodes can be caused by a variety of causes and certainly lack of oxygenation and heart disease or cardiovascular disease. Heat and increase body temperature can cause seizures as well even though it is quite unlikely (temperature must be persistently quite high).
Work up for cardiac diseases must be performed as well to rule out this possibility.

Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Jessica Desrosiers
Veterinary Technician
Extreme heat stress, exhaustion or heat stroke could potentially cause a seizure, however if it is to that point it is considered a medical emergency that would require hospitalization and immediate care. If Charlie is having seizures after a minor amount of activity I would look into visiting a specialist such as a neurologist for additional testing as that is not a normal thing in a healthy dog. It's possible that something such as epilepsy could be triggered by activity, however ruling out other conditions such as neurologic issues, metabolic diseases, etc is best. You may also want to limit Charlie's activity and make sure he always has access to shade and water when he is active to try and reduce incidence until the issue is figured out.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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